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Styling A Dining Room Hutch For Entertaining~Client Project

While I'm away from the blog {returning April 9th, 2012} I have scheduled a few post re-runs. I thought in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday this would be a great post to replay. Re-visiting this project today has me in the mood for a party...

One of my favorite things to do is style shelves/bookcases/hutches. Whether it involves shopping for new items or using what the client has, I live for it. Does anyone else have a fascination with this?

I recently had the privilege of styling this beautiful Drexel Heritage hutch. This piece resides in a jaw-dropping dining room that belongs to a busy, young, professional couple that likes to entertain.

{Before}

In keeping with my "function first" philosophy, I took the client shopping for pieces that look beautiful and also function for entertaining.

My goal was to make the shelves look nice for everyday visual purposes but more importantly, function. As a butlers pantry, of sorts, for parties.

The baskets are not only gorgeous, but super convenient for entertaining. You can see one of them is filled with party beverages, the other is for special linens. When they are removed for use, the empty buffet surface is a perfect spot for food.

The baskets also took the formality of the space down a notch.

This family is Italian. We chose large pieces to accommodate large amounts of pasta.

The all white theme was based off of pieces that they client already had. She has a beautiful collection of patterned pasta serving bowls. The new solid white pieces compliment the patterned pieces and blends with them seamlessly. The little pop of white brightened up the entire room..

The Drexel Heritage piece in itself is stunning. By keeping the display simple, we complimented the ornate design of the top of the hutch as opposed to hiding it.

I wish, I wish, (one fish, two fish) I could share the sources of the products shown here but out of courtesy to my clients, I am unable to spill. One thing I can say, we found our inspiration for each piece at Potterybarn then hit discount home stores for similar products :)

I worked as an interior designer for 12 years, and my very favorite thing EVER was and still is decorating with my client's treasures, or perfect ones I found for them. I still love this today as I am no longer "for hire." I take any opportunity to do this for close friends!

I love the way this looks. But...what do you do when you're using all that functional beauty, leaving your shelves bare? I've strugged with that with my china cabinet. When we're actually using the china it looks kind of empty and lonely in there. Any suggestions?